The Cereal Feast
by nachocheese26
Summary: Mattie finds it's easier to blame things on hunger, stress, and sleep deprivation than to accept the reality. Leotilda if you squint.


A/N: Well...this was supposed to be a bit of a lighter thing...Perhaps I'll write a follow-up piece?

* * *

When Mattie chose her latest apartment, she thought she was making a wise decision. A room on the tenth floor of a building whose elevators barely worked. With the type of visitors she had, they wouldn't mind at all and it would make any unwelcome guest tired before they could reach the sixth floor. And with her schedule she could count the steps up as her exercise for the day.

She just didn't count on days when she would be exhausted from the pressures of her job.

By the time she made it up to the tenth and final floor, Mattie didn't even have any energy to flinch when her neighbor's cat, Horace, screeched at her from his perch at the top of the stairs. She just rolled her eyes and kicked out her foot enough to scare the stupid animal but not harm him.

Horace scurried to the door of his owner, watching Mattie walk down the opposite end of the hall to her apartment. Mattie stuck in her key and began jiggling the lock, all the while returning the cat's stare.

Her eyes were pulled to the lock when she realized it wasn't even locked.

All feeling of exhaustion was momentarily forgotten. Mattie pulled out her key and carefully opened the door. Before walking in, she scanned the area for signs of foul play. Aside from a synth charger carelessly tossed on the sofa, there was nothing amiss.

With returned confidence, Mattie walked in and dropped her bag at the entrance. She grabbed the charger and stuffed it back into the drawer of the coffee table. No, she didn't mind Niska stopping by every now and then for a quick charge, but when would she learn to actually put it away?

She kicked off her shoes and headed towards the kitchen. It would have to be something quick and easy for But she paused as she saw all four of her cereal boxes out on the table. Mattie barely had time this morning for a cup of coffee. Why was all of her cereal out?

Looking into the boxes, she saw they were completely cleared out. "Damnit," Mattie groaned as she tossed them. Occasionally, Niska would bring Astrid with her and she would munch on something in her kitchen.

But for her to finish off four whole cereal boxes? Three of them hadn't even been opened yet!

Her eyes narrowed when she saw a bowl half filled with cereal infused milk. "First, she leaves me without any quick snacks. Then, she leaves the whole mess for me to pick up?" Mattie grumbled, debating on whether to actually clean it up or call Astrid for her to get her ass back over here and clean it up herself.

Mattie threw the bowl in the sink and winced as she heard it shatter.

Just one evening. That's all she was asking for. Just one nice and uneventful evening with her favorite cereal.

The front door opened and someone came in. Mattie clenched her jaw, hoping it was Astrid to at least explain why and how she managed to eat all her cereal. But when Mattie saw who was coming in, she froze.

It was Leo. Leo Elster. Leo Elster who had died a week after Hester's attack. Leo Elster who was supposed to be dead three years now. Leo Elster, with three bags in his hands full of cereal and milk.

Leo set the bags down and shut the door. He held up his hands, "I can expl-"

"You ate _all_ of my cereal?" Mattie asked in a low voice.

Leo blinked. "Um…"

" _Why?!_ " Mattie exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. The rational part of her was insisting she was yelling about the wrong thing. But her stomach grumbled and she could feel the knots in her shoulders from the stress of her job and she was pissed about the cereal and would yell about whatever she damn well pleased!

"I was just-"

"Where do you even put it?! You're just skin and bones! And then you leave all the evidence there! I just wanted on evening to eat cereal for dinner! To ignore the voice of my mother telling me that's not dinner food and I can't even do that because you ate it all!"

Leo cleared his throat. "But I was-"

"No! You aren't supposed to eat all of my cereal! You aren't even supposed to be eating anything! You're supposed to be dead! Dead because I saw you! I saw them put you in the ground! And we couldn't even mark your grave!"

"If you'd let me explain-"

"You don't get to explain! A dead man shouldn't be able to explain why he ate all my cereal!" Mattie grabbed the bag with the milk and one of the boxes of cereal and walked away before he could get a word in. She grabbed a bowl and spoon from the kitchen and locked herself in the bathroom.

If Leo knew what was good for him, he would not stand outside the bathroom door and try talking to her.

But one bite into her cereal, she heard him lean against the door. Four bites and a loud sigh later, he started talking.

"Mattie, I'm sorry. I just...there really wasn't any option and I…"

Mattie wished the cereal would crunch louder so she couldn't hear him.

"But are you seriously more mad about the cereal? Because I did buy more and-"

Mattie tossed her toothpaste at the door. "Go away!" she yelled after swallowing another bite.

She could just picture that stupid pensive look on his face. He was probably biting his lip or thumb, then he would scratch his beard. She heard him get up, but he didn't leave. Instead, she could hear him in the kitchen cleaning up and putting away the cereal.

The cereal started tasting bitter and Mattie wondered why she didn't lock herself in her room. At least there she would've had more things to distract her from the too-real ghost outside her door.

She couldn't even finish her bowl. She set it on the sink and took a deep breath.

Leo was alive. He was alive and in her kitchen cleaning up his cereal feast. And everytime it was quiet for a second too long, Mattie began thinking she imagined it all. But then she would hear something clatter or a grumble from Leo and it brought her crashing back to reality.

Her quiet evening with just cereal would have to be another time.

Mattie quietly opened the door and saw Leo wiping down the table, the rest of the kitchen cleaned. "So...this isn't some dream then." Mattie said softly, grabbing Leo's attention.

Leo shook his head.

Mattie moved to lean against the kitchen counter, wanting to keep the table between them. "Who knew?"

"Only Dr. Morrow."

Mattie pursed her lips and looked down. She had to stay calm. So Dr. Morrow had lied to her for the last three years. So what? She was used to lies and deceit by now because of her job. This was nothing.

She looked back up at Leo to see his eyes already meeting hers in an earnest attempt to convey how sorry he was.

Her stomach clenched and it wasn't because of hunger this time. "Did Niska tell you how to get in then?"

Leo finally looked away, scratching his beard. "No...I, um...no one knows I'm back. Well, except for you now."

"Why did you come here first? Why haven't you gone to see Mia or Max?"

Leo shrugged. "I thought...I honestly don't know what I was thinking." He took a deep breath and looked up at her again. "I'll leave if that's what you want."

Mattie clenched her jaw. If he left, then it really would be just a dream. She could pretend none of this happened and she had the replacement cereal. A vivid dream that was the side effect of stress, hunger, and sleep deprivation.

Leo looked down again. He took her silence as his answer and made his way out of the kitchen towards the front door. He passed her and if Mattie reached out, she could've touched him, made sure for herself just how real and alive he was

But she didn't. The door opened and closed. Mattie counted her breaths, willing her feet to stay planted in the ground.

A few seconds later, she found herself standing in the hall of her floor. It was empty except for Horace.

Mattie swallowed hard and went back inside. She closed the door and leaned against it, taking a few deep breaths. It was a dream. This whole evening was a dream. She just needed to have a bowl of cereal.

She ignored the bowl of cereal in her bathroom, to preserve the idea of this evening being a dream.


End file.
